Have you ever been catch with hands in the Cookie Jar? Well, what did you do? Did you avoid the truth, although this is what you may have wanted to do?

In life, sometimes we can face up to the truth in any given situations, and at other times we tend to avoid the truth for our own selfish reasons. Therefore, I believe that avoiding the truth in a given situation is a natural and normal behavior exercised by all human beings.

But since the truth can also hurt more so than heal, I would use caution when dealing with a given situation, so there is no one correct answer, it more so what is the right thing to do in a given situation without causing unnecessary pain, and hardship to others.

Ah, Michaela!

My heart bleeds for you...and my base ego (my lower, gossipy, evil-drawn ego) wants to know What on Earth Happened????

Anyway, I am proud of you for seeing the situation for what it is! Your description exactly describes something that happened to me yesterday. I was sailing along when Wham! Along comes TRUTH and knocks me into a major tailspin. I needed your question very much, and your explanation of its effect on you very much. Thank you.

Also- to Vee- yes! TRUTH can and does HURT if applied incorrectly, and man, was it applied incorrectly to me yesterday...So you see, my dear, when I read your answer, all of Creation laughed because Jai finally has developed the humility to say that I agree with Vee and am admitting it publicly.

To make a long story short, I am praying for you, Michaela. I am blessing you, Vee. And I am now seeing that I need to grow a la Michaela...but after I see the neurologist and get my physical being attended to properly.(Another long story that needs no gory details spoken...)

Thank you for being an excellent example and angel, Michalea!

I will be praying, but I always think that if you have already got Wade praying for you, whom else could do better???

Blessings, Jai

It's more of a comfort zone. Familiar territory is more comforting than the quest into the unknown. We have a power in us that is equal or greater than the sun that is creative, abundant and destructive. I was just attending a meeting with a group of people that all came together through the Law Of Attraction. We discussed and concluded that people are afraid of this power. Which is why most people turn off their thinking and distract themselves with TV and similar activities.

Yes, I would say it is the egoic mind fightig to stay in it's comfort zone when we question old beliefs, traditions and habits.

Michaela I'll pray for you, yes God allows bad things to come to us to show us where we need growth.

It is through our trials that we become strong and able to be a better tool for God to use from his toolbox. Your trials will be a testimony to God in the future this will help others that need help.

Each trial is like being a chisel being touched against a grind stone, yes it hurts but each time makes you sharper and better as a chisel for God to be able to carve a beautiful piece of art work in the world. All because you are going through trials (being sharpened.)

I think your statement is true, avoidance of the truth is a self protection mechanism used by the ego.

From a personal standpoint, I have often wondered about this as well. I am glad you put this question forth, but sorry to hear that you are going through a challenging time.

When my ex and I divorced years ago, there were some hard feelings and blame between us. I put this behind me as best I could. I said nothing against him to our adult children or anyone else, and I moved on with being happy again. I stayed by myself quite awhile just working on things I loved to do again, having fun with friends and finding myself again. I had no room for old resentments and honestly felt none. Eventually I re-married and I am very happy with my life.

It did not go this way for my ex. He stewed in his resentments, blame, self-blame, and looking-back a lot. He spewed a lot of anger to our family members and anyone else who would listen. He drank. You get the picture.

So....I thought I was much above all of that. I even felt a little superior and smug at times knowing I was not stooping to acting as he was.

Then one day my adult son told me about something my ex had said. It was the truth of course, and maybe that was why it hurt SO MUCH. I was shocked that he would tell our son something like that, and for the first time in years I called him and read him the riot act for saying what he did. Worse yet, I later sent him an e-mail even angrier than my call had been! (Hard to admit!) In turn, I accused him of things and brought up every failing as a human being I thought that he had. You know, I really wanted to club him over the head with his own short-comings as I saw them!

Later, when my blood pressure came down, I really had to ask myself...... what was I so angry about anyway? Well, honestly, I didn't want that truth to come out, ever. Why? Because I didn't want to be seen as a person who would do something like that. Yet I REALLY WAS A PERSON WHO DID SOMETHING LIKE THAT! It was the truth. My ego hated it; just hated it and raged against it, attacking back like a cornered animal. Wow, I was totally shocked at my own behavior.

This happened several months ago. At Christmas time, I was out driving in the snow and realized I was pretty close to my ex's house, so I just drove there completely unannounced and unprepared. I knocked on the door and asked if I could come in. He asked me inside, offered me a holiday toddy and we talked for three hours. I apologized for my behavior and asked him to forgive me. The sum total of our three hours of talking was our conclusions that no one was perfect, and certainly not either of us. We each were doing the best we could at the time, and there was nothing to be defensive or angry about in the end at all. Any painful truths about our marriage that came out from time to time were probably much more painful to us than to anyone else, and in fact, people probably already knew many of these things anywyay!

I would not say we are friends. That will probably never happen, but when our daughter got married we were able to work together and keep from any bickering or bad feelings at all. I learned an important lesson about the truth and about myself and my defense mechanisms, which were much stronger than I had ever imagined.

I am relating this very personal story in the hopes that it might in any small way help you, Michaela. I think highly of you and hope you feel better soon.

The high road, and minimizing the ego is the only way to go in the end, otherwise we are stuck with feelings of defensiveness and anger.